Silhouette
by bubblygal92
Summary: Post Doomsday Reunion fic. Rose Tyler is trying to enjoy a party when a familiar stranger quite literally lands in her world. Together, they must find a way back home. Doctor x Rose.
1. The Meeting

**Disclaimer:** **Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I get paid for it.**

**A/N ****Part 1 of 2. This was only meant to be one chapter but a happy ending was requested, so there will be a Part 2.**

**A special thanks to lastincurableromantic, callistawolf and ambrogiokaru for their amazing help on this one. This was a write-as-I-go fic and I could not have done it without their feedback.**

**To those waiting on the new chapter of 'For Whom..' I'll have it up soon. **

**Happy Reading!**

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**The Meeting**

The masquerade ball had been her mum's idea. It had been seconded by her not-quite father, who really did not wish to disagree with Jackie Tyler. Rose had not been given a chance to protest or make an excuse.

Which was why she was there, dressed to the nines in an elaborate peacock blue ball gown and a mask painted blue and gold. Honestly, she was only counting down the minutes until she could drive back home and slip into something that didn't remind her that she was dressed like a bird. She checked her phone, half-wishing that it would ring and tell her that there were aliens invading. Anything to escape this party that had passed tipsy hours ago and was heading dangerously into conga line territory.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on the way you looked at it, the band decided to take a break before their next song, leaving the dancers to stumble away towards the bar to get more alcohol. Rose emptied her first drink of the night and decided to leave to get some fresh air. That turned out to be a bad idea since all the exits were crowded with people venturing out for a smoke.

Holding her breath as she walked past all the smoke, Rose finally managed to escape into the backyard. The new swing set, that had been installed only a month ago on Tony's sixth birthday, was thankfully deserted so Rose made her way towards it and sat down on one of the swings, exhaling in relief. These parties always got to her, she realised. She was half expecting Cybermen to march their way through the darkness or a man with great hair to grab her hand and ask her to run.

She dropped her mask to the ground, and swung back and forth listlessly, taking comfort from the muted music and voices of the party-goers. It was only after she felt the back of her neck prickle that she realised that she was being watched. She stopped swinging and turned around sharply. Through the shadows, she saw the silhouette of a man who was quite clearly looking her way.

She stood up and walked towards him. "Hello? Who is it?" she asked, her hand drifting to her hip out of habit before being reminded that she wasn't armed.

The man faltered in his steps and Rose picked up her pace, realising that he was hurt. He fell to his knees just as Rose reached him, mumbling something about someone called Liz. Concerned, Rose knelt in front of him and steadied him. With his odd clothes, he would have fitted right in with the rest of the guests at the party but he wasn't wearing a mask, nor did Rose recognise him as anyone she had seen that evening.

"Can you hear me?" she asked, almost jumping with surprise when his eyes abruptly focused on her.

"Where am I?" he asked her.

"London," she said, though instinct told her it would have been better if she had replied with Earth instead. "Looks like you've had a bit of a tumble. Are you alright?"

"Yes," he answered. "Yes, I'm quite alright."

Rose wasn't as certain but she helped him stand up all the same. "Where did you even come from?" she asked, knowing that the area around Tyler mansion was usually cordoned off during high profile parties.

"Do you know, I am not quite sure myself. I am certainly not where I was," he said, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked around.

Rose raised her eyebrows at the vague response but evidently under the impression that his fall must have left him a bit confused, she walked him over to the empty swing set. She was a little surprised that he let her do so; his tall, impressive figure radiated authority in degrees and she was sure that he could be quite stubborn if he wanted to.

"What's the last thing you remember?" asked Rose, jumping into her role of a Torchwood agent.

He was busy fixing his black, velvet cape and didn't answer for a few moments. "I was in my laboratory," he answered. "Certainly not anywhere near here. I must see of a way to get back to where I was."

"And where exactly is that?" asked Rose carefully.

He tossed her a sharply amused look but didn't answer. "Is there a telephone nearby?" he asked.

Rose reached into the small purse dangling from her wrist and pulled out her phone. "Use mine if you want," she said, noticing the flicker of surprise that appeared on his face.

He nodded quickly and took the phone, tapping the keys without any hesitation or confusion. Rose was starting to doubt her earlier assumption when he handed her the phone back without having made a call. "I'm afraid I'm a bit out of range," he said ruefully to her questioning look.

Rose bit her lip thoughtfully as she appraised him carefully. "Ignore me if this sounds like a daft question," she began, watching his interest flare. "But are you an alien?"

His eyes went wide with shock for one instant before he smiled widely. "Of course not, young lady," he answered. "What a thing to ask!"

Rose resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Calm down," she told him. "I'm a Torchwood agent and if you've somehow crashed to Earth, we can see about getting you back."

He stopped then and narrowed his eyes. "Torchwood?" he asked. "Now why does that sound familiar?" he murmured to himself, though not quietly enough for Rose to not hear.

"Everyone knows about Torchwood," she shrugged. "Unless you're not from around here," she couldn't help but add.

The same amused look appeared on his face and Rose was starting to wonder why those twinkling eyes seemed so familiar. "Hypothetically," he began, watching her reaction with a look eerily similar to her first Doctor's _indulge the ape_ look. "Were I to confirm your assumption, how would you be able to help?"

"Hypothetically?" asked Rose, feeling a cheeky smile just waiting to burst forth. "I would ask your planet of origin and see if we have any crafts compatible with that technology. Alternatively, we could ask one of our alien allies if we don't have the necessary equipment. If all that fails, we would set you up on Earth with a new identity while we develop new technology," she explained, having done this before. "Hypothetically, of course," she added with a tongue-touched smile.

A contemplative smile appeared on his face, and Rose could see that he was suitably impressed. "I must say, that is quite an improvement from when I come from," he said. "The answer there usually seems to involve ham-fisted soldiering."

"Yeah, we prefer to talk before breaking out the knives and needles," she laughed.

He chuckled at that, somehow looking younger despite his aged appearance. Although Rose did have to admit that he was handsome, in a dashing, old-fashioned sort of a way. She was about to ask him more questions about where he came from when she realised what he had said.

"When," she whispered.

"Pardon?" he asked, his chuckles drifting away into cautious silence.

Rose faced him and met his gaze squarely. "You said _when_," she said. "_When I come from_, not where."

Instead of getting flustered as she had been expecting, he drew himself up in a way that was somehow both intimidating and oddly familiar. "I most certainly did not," he said with enough conviction in his voice to melt away any doubt in someone's mind.

Someone else perhaps, but not her. She shook her head stubbornly. "Who are you?" she asked, feeling her heart starting to race at even the slightest possibility that it could be…

"I'm the Doctor."

There was stunned silence on her part before an almost hysterical giggle escaped her lips. It had been six whole years and here he finally was, with a new face and no idea who she was. Rose wasn't sure if she should scream, cry or laugh. Unbidden, her hand rose to rest against his chest as if to need a tangible proof that it really was him and that he was really here.

The Doctor looked at her in concern and more than a bit of confusion when she abruptly tore her hand away from him and started pacing, muttering under her breath. He'd felt an odd shiver pass over him when she had touched him, like an untouched timeline, or perhaps a forgotten dream. He didn't have to ponder long though and his eyebrows were nearly in his flyaway silver hair when he recognised a few choice phrases escape the young woman's mouth, some of which he was certain would never be spoken by a human being ever.

"Who are you?" he repeated her question back to her, suspecting that he already knew the answer.

She stopped her pacing and sank down on the swing next to his. "Rose Tyler," she answered, looking at him as if searching for some sign of recognition that she instinctively knew wouldn't be there.

The Doctor racked his brains to remember if he had known her, but this regeneration had already been through so much, what with the Time Lords having forced it on him in the first place. He couldn't be certain that she hadn't simply been wiped from his mind. He wouldn't put it past the Time Lords to do something like that. "Have we met before?" he asked her finally, his mind coming up empty. "I am quite certain that if we had, I would remember you. Unless they took more than I realised. Do tell me it wasn't the scarecrow with the horrible recorder," he said, making a face at the mention of his past self.

Rose blinked at him, not having understood more than half of what he had just said. Typical Doctor, never using words like a normal person to explain something. "Yeah, we've met. I mean, I travelled with you. But I don't know anything about a recorder…" she trailed off, wondering exactly who _they_ were.

He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, yes, I see," he said quietly, looking at her speculatively. "Of course, there is a third possibility. Timestreams like these don't often intersect but it has been known to happen. Past and futures interacting with each other before their time."

"So, we haven't met yet," said Rose flatly as he confirmed her suspicions. "Still doesn't explain how you just landed in a parallel universe. I thought the walls were sealed." She tried very hard to keep the accusation out of her tone since she knew that this Doctor hadn't even met her, but it was difficult.

"Time travel is extremely complicated," he said and Rose understood just why his tone had seemed so familiar before she had known who he was. It was the typical, long-suffering tone that both of her Doctors had used when explaining the intricacies of time travel to others. "Usually, we just go backwards or forwards in time but in some instances, we travel sideways through time. Hence, parallel universes."

Rose nodded along to his explanation. "But the walls…"

"Irrelevant when you have a TARDIS," he said airily. "Which admittedly, I don't," he added a bit sheepishly. "But I am very close to perfecting it."

"You're building a TARDIS?" asked Rose, confused. She remembered her second Doctor telling her that TARDISes were grown not built.

"Of course not! What an absurd idea," he shook his head immediately. "I have my TARDIS. Or as good as the old girl can be with the meddling fools tampering with her systems."

"Who are you even talking about?" asked Rose, feeling her protective instinct flare at the very idea of someone being responsible for meddling with his memory and the TARDIS.

He glanced at her like she had just dribbled all over her very expensive ball gown, though he did catch on to the protectiveness. "The Time Lords, of course. Who else?"

A breath escaped Rose in a whoosh at his words. She turned away from him, lest something in her expression tip him off to what she knew of the future. _Past and future interacting before their time_, he'd said. One wrong word now and the tenuous balance that held everything together would snap, plunging them into chaos. A shiver ran up her spine at the memory of the Reapers.

"Something the matter?" he asked and Rose could feel his gaze boring holes into the back of her head.

"Of course not," she answered swiftly as she turned around to face him. She had to fix this, and fix it fast. "Is there a way for you to get back?"

The Doctor stared at her suspiciously but evidently realised that she was not going to give up whatever she knew. Yet. "Yes," he answered. "The console is still in there somewhere." He pointed vaguely in the direction of where he had come from, which was a small wooded area that was part of the Tyler estate.

Rose nodded determinedly. "What do you need?" she asked.

"A power source for one," he answered. "What year is this?"

"2015," said Rose. "What kind of a power source?"

"Nuclear, I should say. Something safer if you've got it," he said. He watched as Rose nodded and pulled out her phone. "Also, an explanation would be nice."

Rose disconnected the call and looked at him with distinct wariness in her gaze. "Explanation? About what?"

"About why you are here in this world, why would you think that travel between parallel universes is impossible, and why you were so surprised when I brought up the Time Lords," he fired off, sounding politely interested though his bright blue eyes glittered with his ever-present need to know everything. "Among other things."

Rose realised that he was still slightly suspicious of her, and she honestly did not blame him. Meeting someone from the future was always jarring. She decided to answer as best as she could. "I am here because we got separated, I thought that hopping across parallel universes was impossible because you told me so, and as for the Time Lords, you don't talk about them much," she answered, feeling slightly proud of herself for not flinching in the face of presenting the Doctor with half-truths. She wished she could tell him everything but until she was certain that it would not damage established events, she would play it safe.

From his expression, Rose could tell that he knew she was not being honest with him. Rose wondered if he'd argue or find some other passive aggressive way to get the truth from her. Before he could say anything though, Rose spoke again. "I can't say anything more than that. Timelines and all that. But you have to believe me," she implored. "I just wanna help. Honest."

The Doctor gave an exasperated sigh; her words were sincere and he understood better than most what the consequences of meddling in delicate timelines could be. Perhaps his exile had never ended, and Gallifrey had cut him off completely. Without a properly functioning TARDIS, not to mention the lack of a working dimensional filter, travel between universes would be nigh impossible. "Alright," he said. "Although, I would want to ask one thing."

Rose nodded at him to go on but saw that he was hesitating. Her eyes softened as she touched his arm gently. "What is it, Doctor?"

"You said that we got separated. Would you...do you wish to return to your correct universe?" he asked quickly, not wanting to seem idiotic if she refused. For all he knew, she was right where she wanted to be. People often left him of course, if they found something better for themselves.

Yet something told him that he would be wrong to assume that it was true about Rose. His time senses had been so very weak in this regeneration, but he was certain that she didn't quite belong in this world. It was a feeling he'd come to understand ever since he had been exiled.

The utter sadness that gathered in her eyes confirmed his guess. "Will it be possible?" she asked, her voice sounding very rough like she was trying hard not to get her hopes up.

The pain in her voice surprised him and he nodded at once. Rose gave in to the tears and threw her arms around him. The sheer force of her hug sent even the Doctor's solid frame stumbling back a few steps, but he patted her back as she buried her face in his frilly shirt. In this tall incarnation, the top of her head barely reached his chin yet he thought that they fit rather well together all the same.

With a light sniff, Rose pulled away from him. "Sorry about that," she mumbled, avoiding his gaze and looking very embarrassed at having lost her composure.

He smiled a warm smile, the one he knew put even the sternest humans like the Brigadier at ease, and tilted her chin up. "No matter, Rose," he said. "Let us see what we can do about going home then, shall we?"

Rose's answering smile could have put the supernovas in the multiverse to shame.

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**A/N End of Part 1. So, what did you think? ****Let me know. **

**Part 2 will be up soon.**

**~ Phoenix**


	2. The Reunion

**Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I make any money from it.**

**A/N Thanks for the response on the first chapter. Enjoy Part 2.**

**Happy Reading!**

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**The Reunion**

"How's it going?"

The Doctor looked up at the now-familiar voice of Rose Tyler and shook his head. "Slowly," he answered.

Rose nodded and placed a mug of tea next to him. "You look like you could use it," she said.

"Thank you, my dear," said the Doctor warmly as he took a sip of his tea.

It had been a week since the Vitex masquerade ball but they were no closer to finding a way back to the correct universe. They'd had a few bumpy landings that had taken them around London, and a very long one to Edinburgh but so far, they had stayed resolutely in this universe.

"This would be so much easier with a proper databank at my disposal," he grumbled, not for the first time.

Rose sighed but didn't say anything. On their drive back from Edinburgh, she had learned that the Doctor was being punished by the Time Lords for taking the TARDIS and breaking the laws of non-interference. His anger toward them seemed justified but Rose had become so used to utter sadness when he spoke about them, that it never stopped to surprise her.

"I am going to be in the field all day today," she told him. "The R&D crew are on standby if you need anything."

The Doctor gave her a cursory glance and nodded. "I think I'll need another photon accelerator. The coil blew on the last one," he said gruffly.

Rose rolled her eyes behind his back. He'd made no secret of the fact that he hated it when she went out into the field, with primitive, substandard protection no less. His words, not hers. No use telling him that it was top-of-the-line armour commissioned by the Shadow Proclamation.

"I'll get someone to get you a new one," she said, wondering which lab tech would be brave enough to volunteer this time. "See you."

He grunted in reply and Rose rolled her eyes again as she walked away from him. He could be such a child sometimes. Over four hundred years old and the maturity of a three year old when he didn't get his way. On her way out of his lab, she patted the TARDIS console affectionately, still not used to seeing the old girl as only a rotor and console.

She ran into Mickey near the elevators who scowled when he saw that she had been coming from the Doctor's temporary lab. "How's the old guy doing?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "He's doing fine, and stop calling him that," she chided, wondering if he really understood that the Doctors he had met were much older than the one in that lab.

"I'm just saying," he shrugged. "Not exactly your type anymore, is he?"

Rose bristled at the insinuation but didn't answer. She thought that they had worked past these things, but somehow the reappearance of the Doctor had thrown everything into disarray again. Her mum still wasn't speaking to her, Mickey was being an arse and the Doctor was being difficult. It was just like the tension back when her first Doctor had brought her home a year late.

Except she was not nineteen anymore, and she knew she was capable of handling things. Her mum would come around, Mickey would work it out of his system and the Doctor would be fine once he started getting good results with his work. All she could do, was be patient and keep her temper.

They passed the R&D floor and Rose told Tosh to get the Doctor a new photon accelerator. She was the only one of the techs that the Doctor did not snap at, or be completely condescending to. Rose knew he was tired of humans, having been stranded in one place for quite a while, but if more techs started putting in medical leave just to avoid working with the Doctor, she was going to have words with him.

"So, where are we off to?" she asked Mickey as they reached the downstairs lobby.

"Standard clean up job down by the Thames," he answered as he started fishing around for the keys to the SUV.

"Right, let's go."

* * *

The Doctor set the brand new photon accelerator aside and closed his eyes to collect his thoughts. He had been tinkering with the TARDIS console to get time travel back, not to end up in a parallel world. It had been a week already, and he wasn't sure how long it would be until it actually worked. The longer the TARDIS stayed in this universe, the harder it would be to actually get back. Things just could not have been worse.

That last part wasn't true though, which even he had to admit. He could have been stuck in a hostile world like the one with fascist Britain where the Brigadier was a tyrant. No, this was infinitely better.

This Earth was much more advanced and alien-friendly. Not to mention, he had someone who knew him and knew him quite well from what he had gleaned. Rose still kept the future secret and he did understand, but it was frustrating to be the one who knew less about his own future than her.

He usually tended to go off in a sulk, particularly when she wasn't around to keep him company. He knew it was quite unfair to expect her to stand around and wait on him but he missed her when she wasn't there. Perhaps it was because she was as much a stranger to this world as him, or it was because of something else entirely, but the Doctor was enamoured by the young woman. She was bright and clever enough to par with the best of them, had a ready smile for everyone, and once, when he had accompanied her into the field, he'd seen that she fought like a warrior.

But the Doctor was very worried about her. His time senses were even weaker in this universe but he was certain that something was affecting her biology. He had been taking apart a modified medical scanner and upgrading it to substitute as a TARDIS part when the things had lit up. At first, he'd assumed that it was his different biology that had set it off, only to realise that it had been pointed at Rose at the time. She hadn't noticed though, having been engrossed with paperwork. He'd turned it off and put it away, but not before deciding to investigate further.

The door to his lab opened and his eyes snapped open, ready to greet Rose, only to find an older woman resembling Rose.

"So, you're here then," said Jackie Tyler, sending him a hostile glare.

The Doctor sat up straight, bristling at the anger being directed at him. "Can I help you, madam?" he asked, coolly.

She shut the door behind her and sat down on the small sofa near the door. "Mickey said you were older but I didn't believe him," she said.

The Doctor almost rolled his eyes. _Humans and their linear understanding of time and age_. "Rose isn't here right now, Mrs. Tyler," he said, hoping she would leave upon discovering that her daughter wasn't there, although he knew that Rose and her mother were not on speaking terms as of a week ago.

She glared at him. "It's not like she'll listen to me now, is it? We were fine before you showed up!" she snapped.

"I am aware," he said calmly. "You disapprove of Rose leaving with me."

She nodded furiously. "'Course I do. Don't really know you, do I? The other two, well, I had my share of trouble with them but they kept their promise and always sent my Rose back to me."

"I was under the impression that Rose is a grown woman who is perfectly capable of making her own decisions," he said, though he did take careful note of the mention of his future selves. Rose avoided the topic completely, and he suspected that a lot of it had to do with something quite painful. "You should give her more credit. From what I have learned, she is one of the best agents here."

"That ain't the same as leaving with you though," said Jackie. "The other Doctor, the pinstriped one, he told her that the walls would collapse. What if she dies trying to get to that universe? I wouldn't even know if something happened to her."

The Doctor sighed, uncomfortable at the emotional outburst. _Damn it, he was not good at these things._ "I assure you, Mrs. Tyler, we would not attempt to cross over until it was completely safe. For the both of us."

"And then what?" asked Jackie. "You just leave her in that universe?"

The Doctor stopped short at that. He had briefly considered what Rose would do once they got back to the right universe but he hadn't let himself dwell on it. Simply because he had no idea what she would want to do. "I think you should ask Rose that," he said. "But I won't simply abandon her."

Jackie was silent for a while and the Doctor decided to return to his work when she spoke again, but without the harshness in her voice. "You haven't really changed, you know," she said, sounding a bit sad. "God knows I've hated you, but you've kept my Rose safe. She hasn't been happy here, not really. Only seen her smile like she used to the night of that ball when she brought you into the house." Jackie stood up and wiped at the few tears on her cheek. "I'll be speaking to that daughter of mine. Don't you two dare leave without saying goodbye," she said, her voice back to its snappish quality,

The Doctor gave short nod. "I understand," he said, though he wasn't quite sure he did. "Oh, Mrs. Tyler?"

Jackie, who had been at the door, turned around. "What?"

"What year was Rose born?" he asked.

"1986," she answered. "Why?"

He shot her a grin without an ounce of guile. "No reason. Goodbye."

Jackie glared suspiciously at him but left his lab nonetheless. The Doctor's smile slid off as he dug out the medical scan results he'd collected. According to them, Rose Tyler could not have been older than 21 years of age.

* * *

"Good evening," greeted Rose as she walked into the Doctor's lab, carrying a bag full of food. She'd quickly found out that this Doctor was a lot pickier when it came to food and often disapproved of her eat-while-you-dash ways. She'd taken to bringing lunch and dinner for the both of them to share in his lab.

The Doctor glanced at her in surprise. "You are back early," he said, shuffling the papers in front of him.

"It was a standard clean up job. We only had to do threat assessment before the recovery people took over," shrugged Rose as she started spooning out the salad and chips on the plates of steak. "Heard you had a visitor."

The Doctor made a face and buried his head into the new photon accelerator, ignoring the remark. Rose almost giggled at his childishness. "You don't have to be such a child about it. You can admit that Tosh is great."

"Tosh?" the Doctor looked up in surprise at Rose. "I thought you meant your mother."

All traces of amusement left Rose's face. "Mum was here? What'd she want?"

The Doctor sighed and didn't answer. He couldn't understand why was he getting dragged in as a mediator between Rose and her mother. "Why do you want to return to the right universe, Rose?" he asked instead, glancing at the medical scan results in front of him again.

Rose crossed her arms over her chest and shot him a look that was far too close to her mother's glare. "Don't you dare tell me that she managed to persuade you to leave me behind again," she said furiously.

The anger surprised him, though not as much as the words she used. _What did she mean by again_? "She was not wrong, you know," he said cautiously, playing the devil's advocate until he was quite certain of her reasons.

Rose stared at him with narrowed eyes. "That's not what she said though, is it?" she asked shrewdly. "As much as she doesn't like it, she always knew that if there was even a small chance that I could go back I would take it."

The Doctor sighed and nodded, wondering why he'd even thought that he'd be able to get that past her. It was becoming clearer and clearer that Rose Tyler knew him quite well, even though she often underplayed the kind of relationship that she had with his future selves.

"So, what is it then?" she asked, still angry though he detected some desperation in her voice. "Have _you_ changed your mind?"

"Do you remember that medical scanner I asked for two days ago?" he said, looking at his desk instead of her.

Rose looked taken aback at the abrupt change in topic but nodded. "Yeah, you said you needed some components from it," she remembered.

"It detected an anomaly," he said, making an effort to be gentle in breaking the news. Reluctantly, he had come to understand that humans often reacted badly when it came to their own lives and mortality.

"When it was pointed at me, no doubt," said Rose.

The Doctor looked at her in shock, and Rose rolled her eyes. "It picks up on the Artron radiation that we get from travelling in the TARDIS. It lights up in Mickey's presence too, though not quite as strongly. But then I guess it's 'cos I travelled with you for nearly three years."

"You're right," said the Doctor gently. "About the Artron radiation part, anyway. It was one of the reasons why I needed it. But the spike I saw was not just Artron radiation."

"What then?" asked Rose, her brow furrowing.

"Huon energy. In copious amounts in your blood stream," he said.

"Huon," murmured Rose. "What's it mean for me?"

"Your aging process," he said gravely. "It has almost completely stopped."

Rose stared at him for a moment before nodding. "I know," she said, her voice small and tired.

"You do?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"Not for sure, no," she said, shaking her head. "But I guessed after a while."

"I assume you haven't told anyone," he said, carefully gauging her reactions.

She laughed bitterly and without humour. "Remember the knives and needles I joked about?" she asked.

The sheer fear in her eyes, despite the forced amusement in her voice, pulled at the protective instinct within the Doctor. He longed to put his arms around her in comfort but he had to know one last thing. "Is that why you want to go back?" he asked.

Rose sniffed and shook her head with a sad smile on her face. "Partly, yeah. But the thing is, you once told me that I could spend the rest of my life with you, even if you couldn't spend yours with me. See, even if I had one tiny human life to live, I would want to find my way back to you."

The Doctor stared at her in stunned silence for a long moment before walking up to her in slow, measured steps. Rose's eyebrows shot up in surprise when he stopped right in front of her and placed a comforting hand on her cheek.

"I know how we can get back."

* * *

They still decided to wait a day before attempting it, because this way was much riskier than before. The Doctor was fairly positive that it would work and Rose was heartened by his optimism despite the risk involved.

Huon energy powered TARDISes, he'd explained to Rose. They'd be tapping into the Huon energy that had embedded itself into Rose's physiognomy. It wouldn't hurt her but if it went wrong, it could be fatal for both of them.

It was a risk they had to take because the longer they stayed in this universe, the more difficult it would be for it to work.

While he finetuned the details of their multiverse travel, Rose took the time to say her goodbyes. Pete understood and Tony was too young to understand, but her mum and Mickey were harder to convince. It took several hours for Rose to make them understand about the Huon energy and her own changed biology.

The Doctor had accompanied her reluctantly, his instinct to stay away from all things domestic rearing its head in full force. It was a testament to Rose's power of persuasion that he'd even agreed to come. Though he excused himself to go back to Torchwood HQ after an hour, claiming that there was work to be done.

The next morning, all the Tylers and Mickey met in the Doctor's lab. Goodbyes were said and tears were shed and even the Doctor's carefully kept composure seemed to falter when Rose hugged her little brother in tears, promising him that she would never forget him.

Even after all she had told him, the Doctor couldn't help but wonder if she really thought he was worth all the pain that she was putting herself through. She was so young now, and he wasn't certain if her choice would remain the same centuries from now. He hoped fervently that whoever he would become in the future was truly deserving of all that she was offering him. He could never forgive himself if he wasn't.

"Doctor," said Rose, wiping away the last of her tears. "I'm ready."

The Doctor nodded mutely, feeling pain clench around his hearts._ I hope so, my precious girl. I really do._

* * *

The Doctor watched the blue streak of starlight across the inky London sky with a pensive look on his face. He looked back at Mr. Copper, knowing that the man would lead a wonderful new life.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Copper," he said and turned around to go into the TARDIS.

He had to keep going, had to keep running, but he was so tired. He truly thought he could have saved more people on the Titanic but the ship had been as doomed as her namesake. Not for the first time he wondered if he could defy the laws of time, now that there was no one to stop him.

Last of the Time Lords, indeed. Perhaps the Master's madness held some truth to it. Losing himself in his dark thoughts, he almost missed it when one of the swirling streaks of starlight in the sky suddenly shot to Earth.

Bewilderment breaking through the fog of self-loathing, the Doctor ran to where the light had hit. The snow crunched under his trainers, the sound echoing in the silence around the Thames. The place where it had landed was smoking lightly and as the Doctor reached it, he thought he had finally lost his mind.

It was the rotor and console of the TARDIS; his own TARDIS from long ago. His Third self was hunched over it, looking a bit dazed and out of sorts. And lying on the snowy ground next to them was someone the Doctor thought he'd lost forever.

"Rose…" he murmured brokenly, wondering if the illusion would shatter as soon as he approached it. "Rose!" he said in a louder voice as he crossed the distance between them and knelt in the snow next to her.

She was unconscious but still breathing, and looked absolutely radiant as far as he could see. He reached a hand to stroke her cheek but stopped short when his Third self groaned and straightened up.

"Get away from her," he managed through gritted teeth, sounding like he had run a marathon.

The Doctor turned around, and he could tell the exact moment when his Third self realised that the strange, thin man in the ruined tuxedo who was kneeling over Rose was not some stranger, but his future self.

"What the hell did you do?" demanded the Doctor as he turned back to Rose's unconscious form.

"What you should have done," said the Third Doctor, his breathing still a bit laboured. "Is she alright?"

The Tenth Doctor had lifted Rose into his arms and was already making his way back to the TARDIS. His Third self followed after him, stumbling a bit as he walked. The TARDIS door was already ajar and as the Doctors and Rose entered, the air in the console room instantly became warmer.

"She's fine," said the Doctor as he set Rose down in the jumpseat and scanned her with his sonic screwdriver. "Your turn."

"I'm certain you can draw the conclusions yourself," said the Third Doctor, walking around the console room, periodically touching the console or the rotor.

"Stop touching my TARDIS and tell me how you found a way back," snapped the Tenth Doctor, his eyes staying fixed on Rose as he spoke to his younger self. With a wince, he realised that he was starting to sound like his teachers back at the Academy.

His Third self evidently thought so too, judging by the look of pure impudence he shot him. "Forgotten the basic concept of dimensional travel, have you?" he asked, slightly mockingly.

First, his Fifth self and now, this one. The Doctor wondered which cosmic deity he had screwed over lately for this to happen. "Answer the damn question," he said flatly.

"If you must know, I used Huon energy to power the dimensional filter," he answered. "What _have_ you done to the TARDIS interior?"

"I hope _you_ are not about to lecture me about style," said the Tenth Doctor with a look at the frilly shirt and the smoked velvet jacket and cape. Then it occurred to him, what he had said. "Hold on, Huon energy? Where'd you find that?"

Before he could answer, Rose started to stir and the two of them quickly leaned forward in concern. Her eyes blinked open, and went wide at the sight of them.

"Hello," she said, her eyes moving between them.

"Hello," said the Tenth Doctor, his voice almost squeaking with the pure joy that was currently filling his hearts. He closed the distance between them and hugged her tightly, his eyes falling shut in contentment as he did. Rose felt her own eyes close as she hugged him just as tightly and buried her face in his neck.

She realised he was trembling, and ran a hand over the back of his neck in a soothing gesture. He caught the hand and brought it to his mouth to kiss her knuckles. "I missed you," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

Rose smiled into his neck and burrowed herself just a bit more into his arms at that sweet declaration. "I missed you too, you daft alien," she said.

He chuckled and pulled away to look at her, as if he was afraid that she would somehow disappear if he looked away. "Rose Tyler," he said. "I love you."

Rose pressed her lips together to stop the ridiculously huge smile that was currently trying to break its way through. Before she could say anything even vaguely coherent, the TARDIS gave a loud beep.

"It's a warning beacon," the Third Doctor told them when they jumped up in alarm. He hadn't even made it a secret that he'd been watching them both keenly.

"Warning for what?" asked Rose, getting to her feet, though the Tenth Doctor kept his arm firmly around her waist.

"It's time for him to go," explained the Tenth Doctor softly.

"How will you get back?" asked Rose, unwilling to see him gone so soon.

The Third Doctor smiled at Rose. "Time travel, my dear," he said.

Rose broke away from her Doctor, ignoring the startled squeak that escaped him. "Thank you for everything, Doctor," she said, tearing up slightly. She would miss him, she realised. Just like she missed her big-eared Northern Doctor. "It was very, very nice to meet you."

"Goodbye, my dear," he said, not being able to help the slight flush on his cheeks at her sincere words. "I shall look forward to the day we meet again."

Rose grinned at him and stood up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Goodbye, Doctor," she said, stepping back into her Doctor's embrace whose grip on her was just a little tighter than before.

The Third Doctor met his older self's gaze and nodded once at him. He had made the right decision, he decided as he saw him and Rose holding each other like they were afraid of the other disappearing.

With a heartfelt smile at the future, he blinked as he was returned to the past. The future would still be there, and he, for one, could not wait for it.

* * *

**A/N Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed this short little story. Let me know what you thought.**

**~ Phoenix**


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